Some more thoughts...

Started by Wajo357, April 11, 2011, 10:24:14 AM

previous topic - next topic
Go Down

Wajo357

April 11, 2011, 10:24:14 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
I had some additional thoughts for shmax.com:

1) For a collection page, add a sort to include rarity (Rarity: rare first; Rarity: popular first). It would just create a query on your collection to see who has the most/least of your collection. So if you sort by rarity first, you will the see rarest items first; those that only 1 or 2 or 3 people have the item. That would also mean you need to add the number to your collection page as well.

2) Create a STATS portion of the website that can pool together all of the information of the site into a lot of great stats on users, figures, etc. Most recolored figure, priciest figure, fastest growing member, etc. I had a specific list in mind, but I temporarily forgot :).

3) Better figure variant control - I'm not 100% clear how you handle variants in the system, but I think it could be tweaked a bit more. For instance, on a figure page (along with shared molds/names), you have a variant section that lists them all. An example of a variant: http://shmax.com/part_details/18526/scalpel and http://shmax.com/part_details/20165/scalpel
Furthermore, when a variant is flagged in the system, all people who have the old figure should be automatically emailed. This will let them know there is a new variant that was found and they should reevaluate what they have and make a change if necessary. And maybe also don't count a variant as necessary to complete a category (ie 20/21 vs 20/20).

4) Better method to clean up the database: We have many figures that were added to the database because some submitters were eager to enter them in without any solid evidence they were every going to be released with that name in that line. There should be a way that someone can press a button and notify the admin that this figure should be deleted. Some of the figures can be found below:
http://shmax.com/database/899?r=0&sort= ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/1468?r=0&sort ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/1809?r=0&sort ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/991?r=0&sort= ... fter=today
and others....

5) Expansion? Is there a timeline on expanding the website beyond Transformers yet? I would assume it would be best to test the infrastructure for multiple toy lines by adding a psuedo-transformer related category, like "3rd Party Transformers" or something similar. This way we can find the bugs, perfect the design and satisfy the members who collect both (I'm assuming a large majority).

Thanks again for a great site!
Keep up the good work!
Joey
<a href="http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853</a>

shmax

#1
April 11, 2011, 11:04:46 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
Quote from: "Wajo357"
1) For a collection page, add a sort to include rarity (Rarity: rare first; Rarity: popular first). It would just create a query on your collection to see who has the most/least of your collection. So if you sort by rarity first, you will the see rarest items first; those that only 1 or 2 or 3 people have the item. That would also mean you need to add the number to your collection page as well.
The sorting is easy enough, but what about UI? Would you expect to see "Num. collected" information only when sorting by popularity, or should it always be there?

Quote
2) Create a STATS portion of the website that can pool together all of the information of the site into a lot of great stats on users, figures, etc. Most recolored figure, priciest figure, fastest growing member, etc. I had a specific list in mind, but I temporarily forgot :).
Spaceharfang and I have had discussions about creating a "Browse Members" page, where you can sort on a variety of rankings, such as collection completion, collection size, collection value, etc. It's quite tricky, and I don't think we'll be seeing it in the near future, but there are vague plans. As for priciest figure, the various "current value" sorts will be returning relatively soon once I finish overhauling the appraisal system (waiting on a key feature from Spaceharfang). Check out the "Ask the Database" page to see what the most recolored/reissued figures are...

Quote
3) Better figure variant control - I'm not 100% clear how you handle variants in the system, but I think it could be tweaked a bit more. For instance, on a figure page (along with shared molds/names), you have a variant section that lists them all. An example of a variant: http://shmax.com/part_details/18526/scalpel and http://shmax.com/part_details/20165/scalpel
Furthermore, when a variant is flagged in the system, all people who have the old figure should be automatically emailed. This will let them know there is a new variant that was found and they should reevaluate what they have and make a change if necessary. And maybe also don't count a variant as necessary to complete a category (ie 20/21 vs 20/20).
All planned, and in the conceptual stages of development. Spaceharfang and I intend to implement this as part of our Shmax 2.0 effort, as well as a host of other fancy bells and whistles, such as full gestalt support, blind-packs, and various others.

Quote
4) Better method to clean up the database: We have many figures that were added to the database because some submitters were eager to enter them in without any solid evidence they were every going to be released with that name in that line. There should be a way that someone can press a button and notify the admin that this figure should be deleted. Some of the figures can be found below:
http://shmax.com/database/899?r=0&sort= ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/1468?r=0&sort ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/1809?r=0&sort ... fter=today
http://shmax.com/database/991?r=0&sort= ... fter=today
and others....
Yes, I think a delete flag feature is a good idea and fairly easy to implement. It'll happen...

Quote
5) Expansion? Is there a timeline on expanding the website beyond Transformers yet? I would assume it would be best to test the infrastructure for multiple toy lines by adding a psuedo-transformer related category, like "3rd Party Transformers" or something similar. This way we can find the bugs, perfect the design and satisfy the members who collect both (I'm assuming a large majority).
The plan is to finish up all the minor oustanding feature requests (such as the delete button), finish optimizing the database and performance tuning, then do the shmax 2.0 (code name "mini-trees") stuff, take a nice vacation, and then, finally expand. You really hit the nail on the head--the plan is indeed to start with the "Other transforming robots" category. I expect all the coding changes and support to do the first expansion to take around 3 months, but the subsequent ones will be much faster, until we're eventually adding a major line every few weeks. But I wouldn't expect the first expansion to happen before the end of the year.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Wajo357

#2
April 11, 2011, 11:17:05 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
The UI for the rarity is really up to you. Now that I think of it, it might be nice to just have it there for all sorting. But it isn't necessary if you really don't want it.

I am VERY much looking forward to Shmax 2.0. Please keep us updated on your progress. If you want any input on ideas, etc. I would love to give my 2 cents.

Thanks again!
<a href="http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853</a>

Wajo357

#3
April 12, 2011, 10:03:08 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
just noticed that nowhere in shmax can we see how many total figures we own. It shows the total records in our collection page and it shows the total unique figures in the stats page; but it doesn't show ALL figures we may own if we have doubles. Would there be able to be a query to pull that info as well? Like 'Total Unique Figures' = 150 'Total Figure Count' = 177
<a href="http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853</a>

shmax

#4
April 12, 2011, 10:06:03 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
Sounds pretty reasonable, I'll see what I can do...

engledogg

#5
April 12, 2011, 10:21:32 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
Expanding on this a bit, since I think it's a really good idea.

We could have a "database count" that reflects the unique packages/figures in the database that we own, such like we have now (just giving it a new name), and a "true count" that reflects all multiples of packages/figures of those figures that we own.

Considering my collection:

Database Count: 3966 Products; 10300 Figures and Merchandise (neglecting parts)
True Count: x products; y figures and merchandise (x > db product count, y > db fig/merch count)

I can see how a total number of toys (considering boxed and loose) would be advantageous to know.  The collection value already considers multiples in it, but this would provide a bit more instantaneous proof and solid numbers to back up the value claim - whether it be for casual conversation, insurance values, etc.

Also, I've been thinking about this...

Looking at my collection and just considering the "database count":
 
http://www.shmax.com/view_collection/1/117
 
Is there a way to actually give a number of how many Transformers you have sealed (and a link that would only show those), boxed (with link) and how many are loose (with link)?
 
Sure, you can sort by condition and we have the breakdown percentage:
 
74.03% Sealed
8.37% Opened
17.60% Loose
 
And from that, for example, we can calcuate how many are sealed, but that doesn't give us any idea of which toys they are.
 
And that's just dealing with the database numbers.  I would imagine the same query could be applied to the "total count", right?
 
MIKE
engledogg
Dumba$$ that used to buy everything...not so much anymore.

Wajo357

#6
April 12, 2011, 01:51:34 PM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
what engledogg said.... :)
<a href="http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853</a>

shmax

#7
April 12, 2011, 05:03:22 PM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
Thanks Ed and Wajo, that all sounds great. One thing that might complicate this a bit is that I've been reevaluating the old notion of marking parts either "figure", "accessory", or "merchandise". It was originally my idea, but I don't think much of it these days, because while it's usually clear which category a part should fall into, often the lines are blurred. For example, an Optimus Prime lollipop is clearly "merchandise", but it's also sort of a "figure". Then you have weird little parts like "Gasket" that you want to tag as being a "figure", but really he reeks of being an "accessory" (I'm also bothered by "figure", as some things aren't a figure, but are nonetheless the principal part in a toy, like a roleplay blaster, or that non-transforming Optimus Prime from Chicchana Omochaya).

I should probably put more thought into this, but what I've done (not checked-in, yet) is set things up such that any part can have any combination of these qualities (and I'm adding a new one, "gestalt"). With luck, I'll have more information on all that this evening, when I check in. Anyway, the complication is that the totals for "figures", "accessories", and "merchandise" will no longer necessarily sum up to match the total number of parts, because there will be parts that are both a "figure" and an "accessory", or a "figure" and a "merchandise", or a "figure" and an "accessory" and a "gestalt" (it happens), etc. I dunno, maybe it's not a complication, and people will understand that there's some overlap, especially if we do a fractional display in the context of each category. We'll see.

But anyway, I quite like the rest of it, especially the bit about having links to each of the conditions. Can't give any concrete ETA on this, as I still need to finish up the gestalt stuff, and Spaceharfang is making me learn his new database interface.

Wajo357

#8
April 13, 2011, 05:57:58 AM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
So from what it sounds like,  you are implementing a feature similar to google labels, where one record can be labeled more than one title. That sounds fun and interesting. However, I don't think that should discount the stats numbers we are asking for. It sounds like your only hesitation with this idea is that the numbers won't add up. Personally, I don't think that is a big deal as long as it is clear on your website what you are doing.
For instance, for a small collection:
Unique Figures: 45
Total Figures: 55
Accessories: 100
Gestalts: 3
Merchandise: 2
Total Items: 122

I believe having this information is waaay more useful than that one bozo who asks... wait, the numbers don't add up! You can even put that information in a help page.

On a pseudo-related topic:
These stats are great, but we also have to think about how we are going to display stats when more than one toyline will be in the system. Will we be having separate stats for each toyline? Total stats? Both? I vote for both... For the signature stats, I would think to just have a signature that cycles through the toyline stats instead of the categories in each toyline. (In other words, giving values 1 level up). For the website, maybe the stats section in our collection can also be toggled through our different collection as we view them. So if we are viewing all of our collection, the stats would show everything together. But if we clicked on the collection tree to the left, it would update with the stats for just the collection/category we clicked on. I guess, sort of like you have it now; just include a bit more info in the stats title: "Fun Facts for Wajo357's collection: Transformers>Japanese"... etc.
<a href="http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.shmax.com/img/sigs/signature.swf?user_id=853</a>

shmax

#9
April 13, 2011, 01:59:54 PM Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 04:00:00 PM by Guest
Quote from: "Wajo357"
So from what it sounds like, you are implementing a feature similar to google labels, where one record can be labeled more than one title.
Yes, only my labels will have functional meaning (ie. parts marked as "gestalt" won't be included in the collection part checklists--yet).
Quote from: "Wajo357"
I believe having this information is waaay more useful than that one bozo who asks... wait, the numbers don't add up! You can even put that information in a help page.
That's sort of how I figured it. It will be more useful to people interested in comparing their collections to that of other's, apples to apples, as you say, than to people interested in the forensic makeup of their collection.
Quote from: "Wajo357"
For the signature stats, I would think to just have a signature that cycles through the toyline stats instead of the categories in each toyline. (In other words, giving values 1 level up).
Sounds very reasonable.
Quote from: "Wajo357"
But if we clicked on the collection tree to the left, it would update with the stats for just the collection/category we clicked on. I guess, sort of like you have it now; just include a bit more info in the stats title: "Fun Facts for Wajo357's collection: Transformers>Japanese"... etc.
That would definitely be the easiest way to do it. I've been thinking about how integrated to make everything. I could let you navigate your entire collection, spanning all toylines and brands, or maybe have master tabs at the veeeery top of the page that sort of let you switch the whole mode of the site, such that you can view either "Transformers", and see nothing but Transformers pages, or "Star Wars", and see nothing but Star Wars pages. I have a feeling people will be annoyed no matter what I do, but we shall see...

thanks as always for the great feedback, Wajo!

Go Up